1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, and in particular the technique of suppressing the occurrence of cracking during dicing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method of manufacture of semiconductor devices of the prior art is for example described in Japanese Patent No. 3639509. Here, a plurality of semiconductor elements are arranged on a substrate at prescribed intervals, a resin member is formed so as to cover the plurality of semiconductor elements, and the resin member and substrate are cut between the adjacent semiconductor elements.
In such a manufacturing method, in order to divide the resin member and substrate into individual dice each comprising a semiconductor element region, a dicing blade is used to cut away the resin member and substrate. As a result, the resin member may crack near where the dicing blade passes through.
If the cracked portion is small, there are no major problems in use. However, when large internal stresses accumulate in the resin member due to a resin curing reaction, heat, or other factors, passage of the dicing blade may cause substantial cracking of the resin member. As a result, the external appearance is worsened, and in some cases an adequate thickness of the resin member to cover the semiconductor elements cannot be secured, resulting in defective units.